BELLE — Belle Marshal Jerry Coborn is disputing a public statement by Maries County Sheriff Mark Morgan that Prosecuting Attorney Anthony (Tony) Skouby pressured him to prepare a probable cause statement against a law enforcement officer.

Morgan made the allegation in a lengthy Facebook post from the Maries County Sheriff’s Office account while criticizing Skouby’s handling of several law enforcement matters.

“The Belle marshal personally informed me on two separate occasions that Mr. Skouby pressured him to prepare the statement,” Morgan said in the post.

Morgan also wrote that Skouby approached his Chief Deputy Nick Pappas, regarding the same investigation involving Vienna Police Chief Shannon Thompson.

“Mr. Skouby also approached my chief deputy on two separate occasions and wanted him to go outside the Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office and prepare a probable cause statement against the Vienna Police Chief because Mr. Skouby disagreed with the State Fire Marshal’s conclusion regarding a fire investigation,” Morgan wrote. “My chief deputy declined.”

Morgan alleged Skouby then approached Coborn with essentially the same request.

“Thankfully, the Belle marshal also declined to participate,” Morgan wrote.

Coborn confirmed during an Aug. 7 interview with The Maries County Advocate that Skouby asked him to conduct an independent investigation, but said he declined because he lacked specialized fire investigation experience.

“Yes, Skouby did ask if I would do a private investigation on that incident,” Coborn said. “I declined because I have no fire marshal or fire investigation experience. Fire arson investigation is generally done by the State Fire Marshal’s Office. They go to school for that specific area of crime. I do not have any expertise in that specific area of crime, so I declined.”

Coborn said he was unwilling to second-guess the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

“If the State Fire Marshal’s Office doesn’t feel that there’s enough, I’m not going to dispute that because that’s what they do,” Coborn said.

Asked if he believed Skouby was trying to pressure him into filing charges, Coborn said Skouby was seeking another perspective on the investigation.

“He wanted to get outside views besides the fire marshal investigation,” Coborn said.

When asked whether “pressure” was an accurate description of the interaction, Coborn was direct.

“No, no,” Coborn said.

Coborn also discussed another incident involving now former Belle Officer Erican Sugg and body-camera footage that led to assault charges being filed against him.

Coborn said he, Skouby and Charro Reasor, who assists Skouby during Belle court, watched the footage together and that Skouby wanted a probable cause statement from him right away.

“Tony Skouby was very concerned about what he had saw,” Coborn said. “He expressed his concerns to everybody in the room.”

Coborn said he did later question why Skouby was rushing.

“I did state to Mark that I didn’t understand why he was wanting it so quickly concerning the charges on this officer,” Coborn said.

According to Coborn, Skouby later explained that he had already reviewed the body-camera footage and believed the evidence supported moving forward.

“Well, I’ve already seen the body cam footage,” Coborn recalled Skouby telling him. “I already know what’s coming. I already know this officer’s in the wrong. I just need to hurry up and get it done because I already seen the body cam footage.”

Coborn said the explanation clarified Skouby’s urgency.

“It wasn’t that he was pressuring me or anything like that,” Coborn said. “I did not understand at the time, but once Tony Skouby explained it to me, that ‘hey, I’ve already seen the evidence against him. Now, I just want the PC statement so I can move forward.’”

Coborn said Skouby was concerned the officer needed to be dealt with quickly and removed from the street.

Coborn, who has more than 20 years in law enforcement experience, said the incident damaged public trust in Belle to some degree, but he believes much of that trust has been repaired.

“I’m not going to protect anybody that’s breaking the law, regardless of title or rank or what department or uniform they wear,” Coborn said. “If they’re found to be enough probable cause for a crime, then it needs to be dealt with.”

Asked what he wanted the public to know about Morgan’s Facebook post, Coborn again rejected the claim that he had been pressured.

“Well, the sheriff’s entitled to his views and opinion,” Coborn said. “When I talked to Skouby concerning me being pressured, he agreed I wasn’t being pressured.”

Coborn said the normal process is for law enforcement to investigate a case and then present the facts to the prosecutor for a determination on charges. In this case, he said, Skouby had already seen the body-camera footage.

Coborn also said statements prepared by officers involved in the incident reflected what occurred.

“His statement states that he (Sugg) opened the door, reached in, and grabbed him,” Coborn said. “The other officer that was on scene, his statement says he (Sugg) reached in and grabbed him. So, it’s in their own words.”

Asked about Facebook and public statements by elected officials, Coborn said accuracy is important.

“Everybody’s entitled to an opinion,” Coborn said. “Just be sure that, you know, people watch and listen to everything you put up, so it needs to be accurate.”